From Azkaban to Hogwarts.

"Yes, I need to go to Hogwarts to take care of some things."

Should I prepare lunch for you?

"I think Hogwarts should have a dining hall—what was the food like in the dining hall when you were at school?"

“挺不错的，不过我上霍格沃茨已经是很久很久以前了啊，校长都换了好几任了。”

While old Tom was speaking, William lit a magical flame in the stove.

"Well, hopefully the kitchens at Hogwarts weren't burned down and the food still tastes as good as before."

William shrugged, but old Tom, for some reason, burst into uncontrollable laughter, which lasted for quite a while before he stopped.

"Have a pleasant journey."

"I think so too. This is my first time at Hogwarts!"

William threw a handful of Floo Powder into the flames, shouted Hogsmeade Village, and then took a big step toward the fire.

诡异的压迫力从四周传来，威廉觉得自己在疯狂的打转——还不如当时多花点钱乘坐骑士公共汽车——这样的念头在他脑袋浮现的那一刻，旋转速度加快了，眼前的绿色火焰伴着他一起飞速旋转，火焰旋涡的最外端，无数的壁炉在他眼前浮现。

在威廉忍不住快吐出来之前，旋转终于停止了，他直接被火焰弹入了最终停下来的壁炉口，然后整个人飞快的朝地面倒下。

He quickly crossed his arms to shield his face, protecting himself in the final moments.

William quickly got up, took out his wand, and after checking his surroundings, began to use the wand to clean the dust off his body.

'You should have adjusted your position before you bounced out, so you wouldn't have fallen over immediately.'

As William walked toward the fireplace, he reflected on his recent trip—but he quickly dismissed the thought.

Floo Powder is far less comfortable to use than Apparition. If Apparition weren't preventing him from going to places he hadn't been before, he would rather never use Floo Powder, such a torturous artifact, for the rest of his life.

刚刚走出壁炉，他就觉得自己应该没有走错位置。

Although I've never been to this village called Hogsmeade before, this is probably the only place in the world that has so many shops.

Around the communal fireplace where William came out, there were four or five shops with all sorts of signs—it's unclear whether the villagers opened these shops because of the students' shopping needs, or whether the students' strong purchasing power led to the shops gradually opening up and forming a village.

没等威廉这边好好看看霍格莫德村的风景，那边一个比常人高出一个身子的身影就朝这边挥动起了手。

“是威廉教授嘛？”

“是我，谢谢你来接我，海格。”

威廉那边早就去过信把自己行程说了，霍格沃茨自然也不会放任一个从没来过霍格沃茨的教授自己找学校的门来——万一新教授是个路痴怎么办？

尤其巫师自卫魔法学习这门课本身就悬乎，万一今年破纪录的来个教授没来学校就被迫离开自己的岗位，那明年估计去阿兹卡班都招不到教授了。

“我没关系，我正要来这边收下房租，于是就和麦格教授把任务揽下来了。”海格笑着看着威廉，说出了让威廉震惊不已的话。

“收下房租？”

“对啊，整个霍格莫德村的土地都归属于霍格沃茨，在城堡建立那天起，这一块都是学校的产业（注1），邓布利多信任我，所以这份工作交给了我。”

A village as private property—William gasped.

However, considering that the school does not charge tuition, William became indifferent. The rent in the village is barely enough to cover the expenses of the entire school. He estimated that the Ministry of Magic must allocate a considerable amount of funds to the school every year (Note 2).

Perhaps because there were no outsiders around, and because Hagrid naturally considered William, the new professor, as one of his own, Hagrid, who was usually able to keep his mouth shut in the bar, became incredibly talkative at this moment.

“Ever since I started working for Hogwarts, I’ve been the one collecting the rent here, and in all these years, there hasn’t been a single loophole.”

“这真是个了不起的美德。”

William exclaimed in genuine admiration.

Judging from Hagrid's clothes, he knew that Hagrid was not very well-off, and it was truly remarkable that he had managed to collect rent for so many years without any problems.

Especially since William arrived in Azkaban, a place teeming with scum, such virtues would be considered saintly there.

Perhaps because William's attitude was so sincere, Hagrid couldn't help but smile happily, so he simply threw down a royal flush.

“What is this money? Dumbledore trusts me and entrusts me with important tasks. For example, last year, I helped Dumbledore bring a Philosopher’s Stone from Gringotts into Hogwarts.”

Note 1: There may be some debate, because in the sixth book, there is a claim that the twin brothers tried to buy the storefront—but I think they should have sublet it. After all, it was a popular storefront in the Hogwarts campus, and it would have been almost impossible for the twins to buy the storefront after running it for less than a year.

The village was built at the same time as the school, and the subsequent construction of secret passages indirectly proves that it was likely a school property.

Note 2: Hogwarts does not charge any tuition fees, and William himself was unaware of the existence of the Board of Governors.

However, Hogwarts has enormous daily expenses, including the cost of castle maintenance, depreciation of teaching materials and chairs, repair costs of various antiques in the castle including armor, student meals and a full set of bedding for new students, professors' salaries, and additional teaching facilities such as herb greenhouses, and the purchase and care of rare plants and animals.

It is estimated that the Board of Trustees is a body that gains its influence by providing funding to the school, and considering the Ministry of Magic's control over the school, it is estimated that the Ministry of Magic also bears a large part of the funding.

Chapter Thirty-Three: What Does It Mean to Have Your Eyes Opened?

What is a royal flush? This is a royal flush.

当威廉听到魔法石这个词的时候，整个人都晕乎乎的。

As a wizard who started learning everything from potions, William understood better than most what the Philosopher's Stone meant to potions.

魔法石不但是炼金术士的终极梦想，也是魔药学的终极梦想。

For alchemists, the Philosopher's Stone meant turning lead into gold; for potion makers, it meant the ultimate potion—the elixir of immortality.

喝下去，没有副作用的，不用任何黑魔法的，长生不老药。

It's like you and your friend are eating skewers and chatting on the street, and your friend suddenly blurts out, "I can't stand being out here anymore. My dad is about to ascend to heaven, and he says he's going to take me with him."

正当你准备笑的时候，这小子一个剑诀召唤出飞剑来，御剑术直接飞走了。

Although William wanted to believe Hagrid was bragging, he was quite clear-headed—while Hagrid didn't have a father who ascended to heaven, he was working for Dumbledore, the First White Wizard.

Perhaps because he had been holding it in too long at the bar, and Dumbledore had personally said that William would be the best professor, Hagrid made almost no attempt to hide anything.

"Actually, the magic stone is nothing special. It's wrapped in a small oil paper package and is only about this size."

海格伸出手指，比划出一个指节来，仔细想想，他又把比出来的指节缩短到一半。

“It was a very small piece of red gemstone. Dumbledore even had me add a mechanism to it.”

At this point, Hagrid's expression darkened, and he stopped talking as if he had remembered something.

但威廉这边正听得紧张呢，连忙追问道：“后来呢？机关被人破了？”

The traps set up will inevitably be cracked. You can only be a thief for a thousand days, not a thief for a thousand days.

"Yes, I was tricked by a bastard I trusted a lot. Luckily, Harry found out and stopped him in time."

"Oh, right, you should know him, right? Harry, that Harry, he's studying at Hogwarts now. Maybe you can become his professor. He's a good kid!"

When Harry was mentioned, Hagrid's eyes suddenly lit up, and his previous dejection vanished.

Harry?

关哈利什么事，我关心的是魔法石！魔法石！

William was inwardly raging, but he couldn't interrupt Hagrid when he was engrossed in his story, so he could only listen to him talk about how adorable and kind the boy named Harry was, while William could only politely pretend to be interested and nod along.

“You don’t know, Professor William, when I first picked him up, he was just a tiny little thing, so tiny. Dumbledore told me to take him with me, and I obediently took him with me. When I saw him again later, he looked exactly like his father, except his eyes were very much like his mother’s, so much so, Professor William.”

William was deeply sympathetic, but then suddenly froze.

Harry, Harry—he thought he'd heard that name before.

If he remembers correctly, the movie he watched back then was prefixed with Harry Potter.

and many more.

他突然发现了事情不对了——如果他没有记错的话，他记忆中那位黑魔王的复活，是在哈利参加一次名为三强争霸赛的比赛的时候，他记得清楚，那个时候的哈利没到毕业的时候。

Judging from what Hagrid just rambled on about, Harry has been studying at the school for a year now.

Hogwarts is a seven-year school, which means that the Dark Lord will definitely be resurrected within five years.

hiss~

威廉吸了口冷气——他为什么这么作死？当初老老实实在阿兹卡班待够一年不香嘛？

"Professor William?"

海格疑惑的发声了。

The story was reaching its climax when the straight man suddenly went silent?

"I'm just a little sentimental, wondering why things turned out this way."

“Yes, why is that?” Hagrid sighed as well.

"Harry is such a good boy, how could his relatives treat him like this!"

“I wrote him a letter yesterday, hoping he would like the rock cakes I brought—maybe his reply will be there by the time I get back to my room.”

At this point, Hagrid's tone softened considerably (after all, William couldn't really see his expression).

"Could you spare a moment, Professor William? Let's go around the hunting grounds and see if Harry has replied to me."

“Of course, no problem. I also want to familiarize myself with the school buildings beforehand. You know, I’ve never been to Hogwarts before.”

“Great, no one knows this place better than me—oh, maybe those two are an exception, but I think I should be the best guide at Hogwarts.”

Hagrid spoke proudly as he strode forward.

The gates of Hogwarts were now in sight. Hagrid took a few steps to the gate before William, and gently knocked on it with his oddly sized umbrella (William had been curious about it the whole way, but had refrained from asking). Then he took a key out of his pocket and hung it on the gate's railing.

Then the door opened.

“Alright, Professor William,” Hagrid put away the keys, faced William, and spread his hands.

Welcome to Hogwarts!

"It is my great honor."

William bowed slightly.

海格笑着回应，然后带着威廉走上了一条小路。

"This leads to the Forbidden Forest. After passing the greenhouse, you'll reach the castle. My house is right next to the Forbidden Forest."

"Forbidden Forest?"

"The school forest is home to many magical creatures, which is far too dangerous for students. So, a school rule was established to prohibit them from going there, and over time it became known as the Forbidden Forest."

海格指着远处只能看到一丝绿色的的禁林，这么朝威廉介绍着。